Various Artists "Emo Diaries #7 - Me Against The World" (Deep Elm) Review by Jordan A. Baker
I was rather surprised that the seventh chapter of the highly praised Emo Diaries series would be out this soon, as version six was released only about six months ago. Regardless, the twelve featured acts continue the fine tradition of showing off some of the best in the genre and given the exclusivity of the material, this is one heck of a compilation. The first band, TABULA RASA, sets a pattern of heaviness fairly early on as "Me Against the World," seems a bit more emocore oriented than previous outings. These guys just put stuff out on One Day Savoir and their tune, "The Effects that Try," serves as a rockin' kick-start. TIME SPENT DRIVING are little more low-key, but hardly tiresome, nor is the next act, BEFORE BRAILLE. The fourth track, "Racing the Mosaic," by Deep Elm's THIS BEAUTIFUL MESS is the only song on here that I don't care far, as it sounds way to much like a less inspired U2.
The next third of this disc is really where the music elevates itself to the highest level: DORIAN, HALIFAX CODE, DRIVE TIL MORNING, SEVEN HEAD DIVISION, all contain loads of tension in their music - some do it with soaring vocals, others with gutteral screams, but overall, each band places the intricacies of passionate music to the forefront, rather than getting caught up in empty guitar leads and endless drivel. My favorite tune on here comes from the ninth artist, WATERPISTOL whose song, "This is What I Get," jumps out stronger and more confident than the rest. Definitely to the side of emocore versus more pop origins, this band a load of agression and reminds me a bit of the now defunct Long Island band, INSIDE.
Both the KILLING SUSPENSE and TWO WEEKS FROM TOMORROW contribute above average, but not quite memorable tunes, and the final song, by ONE STARVING DAY is a bizarre eight minute amalgamation of all sorts of strange influences. These guys go from super-screamo, to eerie silent on the stop of a dime, and towards the end, a violin helps contribute to the furtherance of this band being the soundtrack to a haunted house. Not what I was expecting at all to conclude this compilation. It's pretty neat to see Deep Elm taking a bit of a risk with having these guys conclude the disc. All in all, yawn, another hour of great "emo" tunes, another winner from Deep Elm.
